New Zaia Jewelry designs

Just in time for the holidays....brand new designs!

Look for them to be listed online soon!

Winter Ball- $42

(45mm gold-filled hoops with 8mm swarovski crystals and grey baroque crystallized swarovski pearls)

Crystal Chandelier- $62

(14k gold-filled ear hooks with 14k gold-filled cable chains, topaz czech teardrops & 4mm carnelian gemstone beads )

Love rocks- $21

(15mm resin skulls & sterling silver post/studs)

Hippy Chic- $38

(45mm gold-filled hoops with tahitian swarovski crystallized pearls and seed beads)

Buy online @ Zaia Jewelry.

Buy locally @ TheLook Boutique

Look for me on Instagram: @brosia

Happy Shopping,

XoXo

My week in a nutshell

Blah. I've been a naughty, naughty girl.

I know the holidays are no excuse for me not to blog, but to be brutally honest, I was just too busy last week. And everytime I had a free minute and sat down to type my little heart out, a wave of exhaustion would sweep over me. So, I decided to fill up my wine glass and take a little break.

But I'm back with a recap, starting with the most recent goings ons.

Yesterday was the last day of our extended, semi-vacation weekend, and we were LAZY. But the lil munchkins and I put on our santa hats (to cover our horrible bed head) and got to decorating.

The boys were a major help once they decided to take a break from fighting with each other. What can I say........a 4 day weekend can sometimes result in a little irritation amongst the brothers, lol.

The best part was turning all the lights on as soon as it got dark. I love to see their little eyes light up with excitement.

*Side note: most of these decorations are new, and scored at major discounts at after christmas sales last year. So, I buy them, store them, forget about them, and bust them out a year later. Well, imagine my surprise when I plugged in those lil penguins and that cute lil one in the middle actually started to move. Woohooo!! Animated Xmas decorations are a major hit with the kiddos.

This is my tired, waiting in line, Black Friday face.

I keep telling myself I'm going to stop Black Friday shopping, but every year I end up back in the same place........on my rear, waiting in some kind of line, at the ass crack of dawn.

And every year it's worth it.

Ooooh, and we finally got our appliances delivered. Yay!

The tile is almost completely done- Yay!

And I'm hoping to be cooking by early next week- Yay!

Going Xmas tree hunting tonight,

XoXo

Old school *flashback* Friday

This is the kind of week it has turned out to be.

I am drained. I can't wait for this day to be over and to have a nice (full) glass of wine in my hand. Actually, tonite would definetely qualify as a double fister night, lol.

And, if I still did some of *those things I used to do when I was younger, I would be doing that too.

Bone Thugs & memories,

XoXo

A sunday spent in the mud

Holy mud and tiles!

We have actually gotten rid of our custom cardboard flooring and started laying down our tile (YAY)!!

This is what we the bf accomplished on Thursday.

Now that all of the kiddos sports are done and over (another YAY!), we finally had a free Sunday, which I attacked with a vengeance. By the time the bf got home from work, I was in full swing. Clothes were in the washer, ITunes was blasting, sinks were getting scrubbed......needless to say, I was cleaning.

So the bf ripped off his shirt (dbl YAY!), threw on some work pants, and started laying tile, measuring, and cutting. We the bf got about 1/4 of the tile layed out (while I took secret pics of his backside), which pretty much took the whole day.

By the time he started mudding (and I took more secret sexy pics), it was after 4 pm. And apparently there's a precise scientific method to mudding and the consistency and how much to put, blah blah. So, because you can't just slap it down and go hog wild, we the bf only got to mud about half of what he layed out.

This was the status as of 6 pm.

So, he piled up the rest of the tiles for another day.

I mean, the kids had to eat sometime, lol.

Here's a pic of the entire kitchen/dining area that needs to be tiled. Almost there right??

Deadline is 11/22- holy monkeys! That's only a week away!

Hoping to come home to more mud today,

XoXo

Veterans Day success story

Guess who got appliances???

Okay, so here's the scoops on the appliance situation:

We already have a (newish) black refrigerator that we purchased last year. And we were gifted a stainless/black dishwasher from our neighbors (thanks!). We have an (old) almond range and a white countertop microwave.

So, I've been on the hunt for new stainless/black appliances to match our fridge and our newly (in progress) remodeled kitchen.

After looking and searching and searching and looking for months, victory!!

Lowes, Home Depot and Sears were all having Veterans Day sales. Major sales.

But Lowes ended up having the best deals.

 It was 30% off Frigidaire appliances, plus an additional 10% off if you have a military ID. Hello! That's 40% off!!

So, I piled the kids in the car, coaxed the in-laws to meet me there (military ID), and 30 minutes later I was $800 poorer....... but happy!! 

Original price $1099

Final price $629

Original price $349

Final price $206

And we are getting delivery 2 days before Thanksgiving. Perfect!!

Prepping to cook up a storm,

XoXo

Trinkets and tile

This weekend is going to be a busy one. And I am hoping that my post on Monday will be about our new tile flooring that has been completed. *Cross your fingers*

Until then........good buys:

Ross find!!

$5.99

I am so proud of my Ross. Not only have they been super helpful in the home decoration project, but they seem to be rather organized for the holiday season.

Target find!

$14.99 ( I think)

We are in the process of lining our shelves (see below), but we also wanted something to hold our toaster since we want to keep the counters clear, and try to put it away if we're not using it. *Side note: you know that a 4-slice toaster is the shizzle right?!

Anyway, we found this dazzling red serving tray @ Target in their Xmas decor aisle. Yay! Mama loves red!

Moving on to the infamous shelf liners. We bought the last 6 rolls they have (so I hope they're ordering more), at $5.99 each. Now these liners are super cute, but like everything else that's "not standard", you don't get much for your money. One roll basically did these two shelves, which are about 34" x 18".

And I know I was the one that didn't want plain, old, fugly white liners, but come on Target. Give us fashionistas a break!

Now.........Ladies & Gentlemen..........Drum roll please.............

May I present........The Tile!! (This is where the crowd roars loudly)

I know, I know, I'm a dork. It's just that you guys have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment (*tear*). This moment marks the beginning of appliances being put in.

Well, I'm jumping ahead about 5 steps, but I can see the tiny light shining through the end of the tunnel.

As you can see, we are in the process of laying out the tile so we can make the least amount of cuts possible but still achieve the "staggered" pattern we are going for. And why do I keep saying we? I am not involved in this process at all, except when it comes to the final approval stamp. My job is to make sure the 3 kids and 1 cat do not f*ck it up, before daddy goes ballistic.

Oooh, oooh.....and there is some major appliance sales going on right now for Veterans' Day. And....there's more.....Lowe's and Home Depot are offering an additional 10% off sale prices to veterans!! Thanks papa for helping us out on that one!

Wish me luck on my shopping this weekend,

XoXo

Holiday cheer

  I know we haven't even gotten through Thanksgiving yet, and trust me, I am not one of those people to put up Christmas decorations as soon as November hits, but I saw these fabulous decorations at Nordstrom and I just had to share. Enjoy!

{handbags}

{lotus}

{pillow}

{shakers}

{shoes}


Holiday wish lists and sparkling champagne,
XoXo

New music Thursday

Absolute love. 

I have my (very) strong (not so good) opinions about Bruno Mars and his extracurricular activities. Especially since he is from Hawaii and I feel he should be representing.

With that said, and all my (not so good) feelings aside, I have to give him mad props for this song. To me it is a very deep, heartfelt song, that takes a very talented singer to pull off right. I hope this starts the path to redemption. I would hate to see such talent go to waste. 

The fame and fabulosity vortex is a powerful one. I just hope he can stand on his own two feet and give us more wonderful songs like this. 

Plus, I know that a bunch of the ladies are swooning over this next Twilight movie that cannot come out soon enough. 

My opinion: the movies were okay, but the books were over the moon. 

Vampires, werewolves & good songs,

XoXo

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, not really, but now that Halloween's over, I feel like the countdown is on for the next holiday.

So I figure I might as well start on my holiday checklist.

1.Exercise (more)- I might as well get a jump start on this one since we all know the holidays are full of yummy, fattening, just can't resist, foods.

2.Start my Xmas shopping- I can put a little check next to this one. I've managed to pick up a few items in preparation for the Christmas madness. But, honestly, I live for the thrill of Black Friday shopping, so hopefully I can score the mother load on that day.

3.Save $$- kind of contradictory to #2 right? I mean, how am I supposed to shop if I'm trying to save money?! Well, I have faith it can be done. For example, if I bring lunch to work everyday, rather than buying an $8 lunch, that saves me probably around $30/week.........which saves me over $100/month. Which buys at least 4 more presents.........In Theory. I'll keep you posted on this one, lol.

4.Concentrate more on Zaia Jewelry- this one is on the forever list. I am always trying to find the perfect balance between work, life, and Zaia. I'll let you know if I ever find it. I doubt I will, but as long as I find what works for me and my family, that's fine by me.

21 more days til Thanksgiving, 22 more days til Black Friday, & 52 more days til Xmas,

XoXo